This chatbot for pet owners will answer your hairy questions
Billed as Australia's first-of-its-kind generative AI-powered pet care assistant, the PetAI chatbot will answer client questions about a range of pets including cats, dogs, reptiles, birds, chickens, small animals and fish.
Developed by giant pet-care retailer Petbarn in collaboration with Microsoft and Insight Enterprises, PetAI has built-in guardrails and refers more esoteric or difficult questions to a PetAI customer service line or suggests a consultation with a vet.
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2 days ago
- 7NEWS
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Workers are struggling to cope with a 'seemingly infinite workday ', involving an increasing load of meetings scheduled at 8pm or later and a near-constant stream of interruptions, according to new research by Microsoft. The company analysed data from users of Microsoft 365 services — which include Outlook and PowerPoint — globally between mid-January and mid-February. It found that the number of meetings booked between 8pm and just before midnight had risen 16 per cent compared with last year. Geographically dispersed teams, as well as those with flexible working arrangements, were responsible for much of that increase. 'The infinite workday… starts early, mostly in email, and quickly swells to a focus-sapping flood of messages, meetings, and interruptions,' Microsoft said in a report on Tuesday. The company found that the average worker is interrupted every two minutes by a meeting, an email or a chat notification during a standard eight-hour shift — adding up to 275 times a day. And those messages don't stop after they've clocked off. During the study period, the average employee sent or received 58 instant messages outside their core working hours — a jump of 15 per cent from last year. The typical worker also receives 117 emails per day and, by 10pm, almost one-third of employees are back in their inboxes, 'pointing to a steady rise in after-hours activity'. 'The modern workday for many has no clear start or finish,' Microsoft said. 'As business demands grow more complex and expectations continue to rise, time once reserved for focus or recovery may now be spent catching up, prepping, and chasing clarity. 'It's the professional equivalent of needing to assemble a bike before every ride. 'Too much energy is spent organising chaos before meaningful work can begin.' 'Impossible to keep up' One outcome is that one-third of workers feel it has been 'impossible to keep up' with the pace of work over the past five years, according to a Microsoft-commissioned survey of 31,000 employees around the world, cited in its new report. 'Each email or message notification may seem small, but together they can set a frenetic tempo for the day ahead,' the company said. Half of all meetings take place between 9–11am and 1–3pm, Microsoft also found, 'precisely when, as research shows, many people have a natural productivity spike in their day, due to their circadian rhythms'. Ultimately, Microsoft said, meeting-hungry bosses and colleagues sap workers' productivity, with some time-starved employees forced to catch up at the weekend. 'Instead of deep work… prime hours are spent cycling through a carousel of calls,' the company said. Artificial intelligence could help lighten the load for workers, according to Microsoft. The technology can help carry out 'low-value' administrative tasks, it said, freeing up time for people to work on what truly benefits the organisation. However, the rise of AI has fuelled anxiety about the technology's potential to oust human workers from their jobs. According to a survey by the World Economic Forum, published in January, 41 per cent of employers intend to downsize their workforce as AI automates certain tasks.
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6 days ago
- Perth Now
PM urges 'free and fair trade' to US business figures
The prime minister will emphasise the importance of free and fair trade to US business leaders ahead of major talks with world powers. Anthony Albanese landed in Seattle, in the US state of Washington, on Saturday as part of a whirlwind tour that could end in a meeting with US President Donald Trump about his controversial tariffs. Washington state is home to several tech and engineering giants such as Boeing, Microsoft and Amazon, and Mr Albanese will attend the Technology and Innovation Business Reception on Saturday local time to address companies like BHP Ventures, Airwallex and Anthropic. "Free and fair trade has transformed the economies of our region," the prime minister will say in his remarks. "We should not lose sight of the profound opportunities that can be realised by closer and deeper co-operation - the businesses in this room are proof of that. "In a time of global uncertainty, all of you represent cause for optimism." The visit comes after he held security and climate talks in Fiji however, these pit stops play second fiddle to his trip's upcoming centrepiece. Seven of the world's largest advanced economies will gather in Canada from Sunday for the multi-day G7 summit. The event is often used to discuss solutions to major global issues like trade, security, economics and climate change, and in a year largely defined by trade tariffs, the topic is expected to take the spotlight. Australia is not part of the G7 but Mr Albanese has been invited, fuelling speculation he will meet President Trump on the sidelines of the event. The prime minister appears to be preparing for the possibility - his remarks reheat Labor's lines on US tariffs, emphasising Australia will engage "respectfully and constructively" in its national interest. Australia currently faces 10 per cent tariffs on goods exported to the US and - like all US trading partners except the UK - has been hit with 50 per cent tariffs on aluminium and steel sent to America. The Australian government is considering using critical minerals and US beef imports as bargaining chips in tariff talks. However, Mr Albanese has not yet confirmed whether he will sit down with Mr Trump. The prime minister has already had three discussions with the US president as his government, including Australia's ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd, have tried to negotiate a tariff exemption. Mr Albanese will also visit the Amazon corporate headquarters in Seattle to highlight the company's multi-billion-dollar investment in Australian data centres.
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7 days ago
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Siri, where's my AI? Clock ticks for Apple in tech race
Hundreds of app developers swarmed Apple's Cupertino campus this week, some pausing to snap selfies at the Worldwide Developers Conference signs before racing to score deck chairs in front of the event's outdoor stage. But while enthusiasm rippled through the audience before the keynote, with smartphones and hands held high, the usual cheers that greeted speakers sounded more subdued this year. Those eager to hear developments in artificial intelligence may have been disappointed: Apple revealed it needed more time to supercharge its voice assistant Siri with the technology and unveiled only a handful of AI software features. The company's announcements are proof, experts and analysts say, the tech brand is "falling behind the curve" on AI innovation, and they warn Apple may not have as much time as it thinks to close the gap on its rivals. If Apple suffers further delays, they say it could miss the next wave of AI innovation, including devices that will no longer need screens to hold our attention. Despite the company's Siri setback, Apple did not shy away from addressing artificial intelligence at its annual event. After recapping earlier AI additions, software engineering senior vice-president Craig Federighi previewed a series of AI features to work across Apple iPhones, iPads, Watches, Macs and AirPods later this year. "We're integrating features in even more places across each of our operating systems," he told attendees. An AI-powered Call Screening tool will ask unknown callers for their details before users pick up, for example, and Live Translation will interpret foreign languages across messages, video and audio calls in real time. An AI text-to-speech tool called Workout Buddy will deliver motivational messages and fitness data into the ears of Apple Watch users during workouts, and iPhone users will be able to search the web for items captured in screenshots. But the most obvious target for an Apple AI software upgrade, Siri, will not receive one imminently, Mr Federighi said, as the company needs "more time" to deliver a high-quality outcome. The omission shows Apple has "dropped the ball" when it comes to artificial intelligence, UNSW AI Institute chief scientist Toby Walsh says, particularly in comparison to its rivals. "It's not hard to criticise them for falling behind the curve compared to Microsoft or Google, Facebook or other competitors," he says. "Apple hasn't shown their ability in recent years to be innovative in this space." Part of the reason for this delay is the company's protective approach to data, Prof Walsh says. While some other firms have harvested as much public and personal information as possible to train AI models and gain an early advantage, he says, Apple is playing "a longer game" in keeping AI processing on devices and in secure environments as much as possible. The AI gap between the company and rivals including Google, Microsoft and Samsung is becoming more obvious, Telsyte managing director Foad Fadaghi says, and will put Apple under greater pressure from the market and buyers. "The innovation happening in AI is happening at a much faster rate than any previous technological innovation, including the internet and smartphones," he says. "It's not like Apple just needs to catch up, it needs to overtake and that's a difficult challenge in the current environment as many trillion-dollar organisations are going after the same AI prize." Last month, Google announced plans to create a universal personal assistant under the name Project Astra, for example, while Samsung is reportedly considering a partnership with AI search service Perplexity. Apple's upcoming AI software features will undoubtedly be appreciated by consumers, Mr Fadaghi says, but even the most loyal among them will be watching what its competition does next. "Consumers love the Apple brand and products and they'll give it some time to find its AI legs but it's going to get harder," he says. Failing to give Siri artificial intelligence skills could also affect Apple's involvement in future consumer devices, Prof Walsh says, some of which will not have traditional inputs and will rely on voice, touch and context. OpenAI is working with former Apple designer Jony Ive to develop a pocket-friendly, screen-free device with microphones and sensors, for example, and it is in this field that an AI-powered voice tool like Siri could be most useful. "I've argued for a long time that the AI interface of the future is one you talk to because that works on your devices - it works for your toaster, it works for your front door, it works for your light bulb, it works for your car," Prof Walsh tells AAP. "None of those necessarily have screens, none of them have keyboards but you can talk to those things and they could talk back to you. "If I had the resources of Apple, that's where I'd be putting my money." This AAP article was made possible by support from Apple.
